Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the Ideal House and Marriage Preparations Fair held in Kocaeli. Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his speech here: "I attend with the opening of many fairs in different sectors. However, I think that the opening we made today is very important for two reasons. Because at the end of this fair there is a blessed situation. This fair facilitates the work of our young people who will marry. On the other hand, 600,000 people in average marry every year in Turkey. The wedding industry in Turkey has a market size of 30bn TRY. This fair is a very important one both in terms of spiritual aspect and economic dimension. With the authority granted by the Ministry of Customs and Trade, we are authorized to grant permits as TOBB in Turkey. In the past years, we have disciplined the exhibition sector upon the demand of the sector, set the standards and applied them. Fairs are platforms that combine supply and demand correctly and effectively. Due to the increasing competition, increasing product variety and quality differences, it is a must for our business world.”

- Fairs maintain their importance

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that despite the technological transformation today, fairs are still important for the need of physical visibility and for improving the opportunities for cooperation. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the exhibition industry has been showing a rapid development. Explaining that, 475 fairs held in Turkey last year, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In these exhibitions, 60,000 exhibitors were given more than 3 million square meters of stand space. A total of 22 million people visited our fairs. 587,000 of these visitors were the foreign tourists. The number of fairs organized and the number of visitors coming to fairs are increasing every year. Also in 2018, 540 trade fairs will be held throughout Turkey and 8 fairs will be in Kocaeli. Our goal is to make Turkey the exhibition center of the region. We also need to increase the number of foreign visitors participating in our fairs. For this, TOBB continues to work with the Fairs Sector Council.”

- Sign of unity and solidarity

Expressing that the fairs are concrete signs of unity and solidarity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Here we can achieve the goal by working hand in hand with consensus like all stakeholders forming a fair. With consultation and in common wisdom, we can overcome all our issues. Let's stand together. Let us not alienate one another.”

- Thanking the Kocaeli Chamber Commodity Exchange Chair and Sector Council Chair Alagöz

Indicating that the Presidents of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry, Kocaeli Chamber of Commerce, Gebze Chamber of Commerce, Körfez Chamber of Commerce are a great opportunity for the city; Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Kocaeli Chamber of Commerce Chair Necmi Bulut and Industry Chamber Chair Ayhan Zeytinoğlu work non-stop to pave the way for merchants and industrialists of Kocaeli. They do not hesitate to take on responsibility. We work together with them both in Kocaeli and in Ankara. I congratulate both chairpersons for their successful works. I would like to thank my former colleague and TOBB Fairs Sector Council Chairperson Cihat Alagöz for organizing the opening ceremony of the fair being held for the 4th time in Kocaeli.”